MIAMI – Miami-Dade County’s eviction deadline was Sunday, but The Miami Seaquarium in Virginia Key was quiet.
The 38-acre oceanarium’s parking lot was empty in the morning. There weren’t moving trucks near Rickenbacker Causeway. About a dozen protesters showed up in the afternoon.
The Miami Seaquarium’s owners announced the intention to defy the county on Friday with a fight in federal court — seeking $35 million in damages while claiming the eviction was forced without a “lawful plan” for the animals.
The county announced the eviction after U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors found violations. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said this was in addition to a “troubling history.”
The Seaquarium was founded in 1955 and welcomed the “Flipper” film crew to the dolphin exhibit in the 1960s. The beloved orca Lolita, also known as Tokitae, was captured in the Pacific and brought to the park on Sept. 24, 1970.
Children from Latin America traveled to Miami to watch Lolita jump out of the water. She was the inspiration behind the 1993 film “Free Willy.” Animal advocates increasingly took an interest in the captive orca.
Palace Entertainment bought the park in 2014. The National Marine Fisheries Service listed the orca as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2015. The Dolphin Company purchased the park in 2022. Lolita died on Aug. 18.
Tickets were still up for sale on Sunday and the park still marketed the “captivating marine habitats” and close encounters “with friendly dolphins.”
ZooTampa announced on Sunday that Juliet, a manatee that lived at the Miami Seaquarium, and was one of the oldest known manatees in the world was dead on Sunday.
Read the announcement on Friday:
Read the lawsuit: